THE DAY
In some ways, this was a very low-key day. No one showed up; I had several calls but decided to let them slide until I was done. Looking at my schedule and realizing just how frazzled I feel, what with all these events coming up, I decided to punt one. Felt bad about it, but one member of the group did the same thing about a month ago: just flat-out said she needed some introvert/alone time. I can relate.
Almost as soon as I pulled out of that, I got an invite to something else on the very day I’d just freed up! I politely declined but asked for a rain check. I appreciate that someone would go out of her way to try and make me feel welcome, I do. I’m just…in serious need of some alone-time.
Which I pretty much had today. Worked. Exercised; did my strength training, too. Didn’t bother with dinner because there were leftovers.
WRITING OUT LOUD
GHOST IN THE MACHINE
Day 1: 4326 Day 11: 2500
Day 2: 2085 Day 12: 500
Day 3: 3011 Day 13: 1000
Day 4: 2652. Day 14: 3700
Day 5: 3210 Day 15: 5630
Day 6: 3450
Day 7: 0
Day 8: 2756
Day 9: 4580
Day 10: 2670
Blog Post: 548
I normally begin every writing day jotting down where I want to go, what chapter I’m writing, etc. One of the greatest challenges for me is information flow. My mind tends to jump around even though writing is an ordered process. you can’t stop a sentence in mid-stream, jump to another cool idea and then hope to find your way back. So whenever I think about a chapter, I try to figure out what I’m getting at and what information I’m trying to get across. (Another thing to consider: not every bit of information is important. At the time, I think it is, or else I wouldn’t write it. But when I step away, I always find myself thinking, Okay, how did that serve the story? How did that further the plot or the character?)
I guess that’s why I like jotting down a road map in the morning. I need the chapter beats. In fact, I will frequently title my note for that day “chapter beats.” I want to make sure to hit what I think are the important points. It’s all about information flow. You can get away with only so many “well, you know, Bob” moments.
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What I’m Watching:
Decided to punt on The Art of More. I’ll probably get back to it, but on the strength of its reviews and a couple of friends’ recommendations, I grabbed season 2 of Fargo today.
First impressions? I’m not all that taken with it. I remember being thoroughly entertained with the first episode of season 1, largely because the actors were so good. Here, not so much, although I thought the setup was . . . well . . . “cute.” Yeah, cute is the right word. The series seemed so enamored of its wink-wink-nudge-nudge that it’s just not as sharp (or even believable). Although Jeffrey Donovan? Completely unrecognizable. I kept staring, thinking, I know this guy. Didn’t hit me until midway through the episode. So that was fun and refreshing.
But so far the story’s only . . . meh. I’ll give it more of a shot, though.
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What I’m Reading:
The Astronaut Wives Club by Lily Koppel; still entertaining, but I find the continual use of exclamation points a! little! distracting!
